


Birthday Gift from the Void

by miss_nettles_wife



Series: Cherries and Wine (Marilyn Teller/Winsome Chisel) [1]
Category: Eerie Indiana
Genre: Exposition, F/M, Pining, vintage style
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 12:55:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15389217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_nettles_wife/pseuds/miss_nettles_wife
Summary: Mayor Chisel's reclusive sister pays a visit to Marilyn Teller to give her a gift.





	Birthday Gift from the Void

**Author's Note:**

> hey mitzi did you make an oc based off of Lana Del Rey specifically to be shipped with your favourite character, Marilyn Teller? I surely did.

As much as Marylin enjoyed her work, she had to admit that there were times that she would rather be doing something else. Sitting at her desk, she turned a bill over. Living the dream, alright. She straightened a swatch of blue fabric and looked back to her moodboard. Winsome Chisel had commissioned her to create yet another gala, this time for her brother’s birthday slash end of the world gathering. Not for the first time, either.

Marylin wasn’t worried about the end of the world, really. She’d made up plenty of parties for the various town cults and none of them had successfully predicted the end of days. Or the rapture. Or the invasion of large out of space spaghetti monsters. Admittedly, the spaghetti monster one had been fun to organise. Lots of pasta. But it seemed that for now at least, the fate of the universe was not for any mere mortal to know.

And if they did, they weren’t commissioning her to make any parties for them.

She picked up a scrap of black paper with a white design on it, and held it up to the board. She was trying to figure out if she thought it would look good in white or cream. Mayor Chisel was very fond of the classics, and minimalism. So small and simple it was. Simple in terms of design, no member of the Chisel family as far as she knew would accept any simple party, no. It had to be a gala of a party.

She heard the click clack of low heels and looked up to see her newest visitor. Winsome Chisel is someone who walks around in a cloud of perfume. Wherever she went, it felt like anyone nearby was being assaulted by the scent of chemically created flowers. You could probably smell her before you saw her and Marylin has never had cause to disagree. Not today, or any other day. The Chisel woman breezed into Marylin’s store in a cloud of perfume and the click clack of high heeled shoes.

“Good morning, Mrs Teller.” She said, smiling. She didn’t smile much, but she probably should, it made her look a bit less severe. And she did look severe. She was wearing a dress that looked vintage, though Marylin wasn’t sure what vintage exactly. Calf length, dark red and with a stiff chin height collar, finished off with a neat black bow and approximately a trucks worth of lace and ruffle.  She had hair that looked like it was soft to the touch, but formed into a simple wave with swept off her face. She was beautiful, but also looked likely fade into one of those old ads for ketchup so easy to open, even a woman could do it.

“Good Morning, Winsome. If you’ve come about your party, I’m afraid I just haven’t had time to-“  
“Oh, no, I haven’t.” She said, her voice was warm. She could have been a singer. She certainly had the lips for it, soft and plump looking.  “I just came about your birthday.” It wasn’t Marylin’s birthday until the weekend, where they were having a very little get together. Winsome had been invited, but was yet to RSVP.  
“My birthday?”  
“Uh, Hm, yes. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to attend.”   
“Oh, that’s a shame, I was looking forward to seeing you get lose.” Marylin tried to joke, but it bounced right off of her; she was quite sure that Winsome didn’t get lose under any circumstances.   
“I brought you a gift.’” Winsome said, indicated to the large, old fashioned cardboard bag hanging on one arm in the crook of her elbow. She is also, Marylin noted, wearing black, lacey gloves. The logo on the bag was of the upscale department store that she couldn’t even look inside of without feeling like she had to pay, but it looked much older than the more modern, 90s purple and blue logo it had now.   
“Oh, thank you.” Marylin said, charmed either way. “You didn’t have too, I believe that my invitation said that I’d rather have your presence than your presents.”   
“Well, you won’t have my presence, so you’ll have to have my presents.” Winsome said, “I would have liked to come but Winston and I are visiting our parents and there’s not a way out of it, I’m afraid.”

Marylin was surprised to hear that Winston Chisel had any parent, let alone two of them.

“Are they having a party too?” She asked.   
“No, uh, our step father wants help moving Mother from where they’re living now to the next location. It happens about once a year and it can’t be stopped, unfortunately.”  
“Ah, parents. You can’t live with them.”  
“Or without them.” Winsome finished. She put the bag down on the counter. Marylin shifted the tissue paper and revealed something sapphire blue underneath.   
“I can’t accept this.” She gasped, looking up. Winsome looked awkward for a brief second, as if she hadn’t considered Marylin would turn it down.   
“Well, uh, I’d like if you did.” She said, “It is a gift, after all.”   
“But-“  
“No buts, I’d really love if you did.” Marilyn relented.   
“Well…Thank you. You didn’t have to.”   
“You’re my friend.” Winsome said, “Of course I had to.”  She was a sweet woman, but Marilyn always thought she was a bit lonely. Very shy, actually. She’d noticed her at one of Mayor Chisel’s gathering over a year ago, but had never spoken to her up until the beginning of this year. She seemed to vanish every time Marilyn got near her to speak. She blushed furiously when she was spoken to and she hadn’t had time to prepare. Very shy. Perhaps Marilyn should try to set her up with a nice boy.

“Well, thank you, again.” Winsome nodded mostly to herself before unclipping her pill shaped handbag and passing her a letter.   
“Winston asked me to pass this along about his next fundraiser, he has some specific requirements for the catering.”   
“More blood?”  
“More blood.” Winsome agreed, “But he’d like Virgin instead of Bill and Bills.”   
“Well, I’ve always used virgin.” She said, “But I’ll be sure to include it on the receipt this time.”   
“I thought you did, but it’ll ease his mind. He has a lot on his plate these days, with Mother and everything.”   
“I presumed as much.” Marilyn replied, turning her attention to some fabric swatches. She knew Winsome didn’t mind if she worked while they spoke. She didn’t know exactly what she did but she always made time to come to see her. She suspected it was some kind of art. Marshall thought it was probably poetry, because that’s the sort of life a tragic poet might live. She didn’t know she agreed, perhaps the Chisels were just rich. Either way, she didn’t seem to have any time restrictions on her.

“But that’s more than enough about my family. How is yours?” She asked, “Is Syndi still looking into journalisim?”  
“She is, though I wish she’d be a bit more careful about it.” Marilyn said, not wanting to mention that Syndi was working on a big expose about town hall. It seemed…Impolite.   
“My…Friend, in college studied journalism.” She said, “I’m sure I could ask her to put in a good word for her.”   
“Thank you, but I’m sure Syndi would rather do it on her own merit.” Marilyn had never seen any of Winsome’s other friends, if there were anyway. She wasn’t even sure there was. And if there were, then they certainly weren’t challenging her for the mantle of closest. She didn’t think Winsome had any close friends, in the usual sense.   
“Yes, well, I thought I’d offer anyway.”  
“Very kind of you.”   
“It’s the least I can do for all the work you’ve been doing for my family.” Marilyn does not mention that it was a two way street and she gets paid for the work she does.

“I suppose I should leave you too it.” Winsome said, after a long moment. She smoothed her skirt with her hands, and smiled. “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.” She smiled, but before Marilyn could speak to her, she had vanished into the Mall.

…

It really was a beautiful dress.

Marilyn admired herself in the mirror. The floor length sapphire dress was silky to the touch and shiny under the light. It clung to her in the right places, and draped just right. She found it hard to imagine she’d ever told Winsome anything about her dress sizes, so how she got it cut this way and practically tailored was a mystery.  She’d never considered herself a fan of vintage fashion but this might just be the exception to the rule.

It was cut to be mid length, with shoulder straps and a straight cut neckline.  She paired it with a pair of plain black heels and some pearls. She looked like she was about to go to a dance with a boy in a letterman jacket.  

She picked up the card again, and ran her eyes over the tiny poem written in neat cursive, with a special flourished embellishing her name.

Mrs Teller,

 _Your nightlight heart banished the darkness_  
sending it to corners and under beds  
I, being of the darkness, went with it. 

_I knew I was burning when you touched me_  
but I was burning for you   
which I do gladly.

W.C

After a moment, she slid it into her underwear drawer, where she put all the things she didn’t want other people to see. She didn’t quite know what to make of Winsome Chisel.

“That’s a nice dress.” She turned to see Edgar leaning on the door, smiling at her.   
“You think so?”  
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear a blue dress.”   
“I don’t, normally. It was a gift.”  
“From?”  
“Winsome Chisel, she isn’t coming to the party.”  
“Oh?”  
“Something about her mother.” Edgar draped his arms over her shoulders and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

“The Chisels have a mother? To think, all this time I just assumed they popped out of the void fully formed and running this town.”   
“I was thinking the same thing.” She said, and turned to kiss him. For now at least, Winsome Chisel was out of her mind.


End file.
